Kaohsiung, Sept. 17
The National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, also known as Weiwuying, will present both free and ticketed events for three days on the Oct. 10 National Day long weekend to celebrate its third anniversary, it said Friday.
"Since the opening of Weiwuying, it has overcome various challenges to connect people to the world through the arts," Weiwuying General and Artistic Director Chien Wen-pin (簡文彬) said in a statement.
"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to support public and performance arts groups, because culture and the arts are keys to the world, and introduce more Taiwanese artists to global audiences," Chien said.
The "Weiwuying Anniversary 3.0" will continue the center's tradition of opening its four venues and various spaces to the public, but will follow the government's COVID-19 prevention rules by requiring all attendees to wear a face mask, the statement said.
The three-day event will begin with free "Open House" events at its playhouse Oct. 9-11, including a demonstration of how a theater is operated and how a show is run, according to Weiwuying.
The arts center also plans an outdoor market fair between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on the three days.
On the afternoon of Oct. 10, the center's three other indoor venues -- an opera house, concert hall, and recital hall -- will put on free performances, including two by the Diabolo Dance Theatre, two chamber music concerts and two "Let's Opera" concerts, respectively, the center said.
At 6 p.m., rapper Gil G and two Golden Melody Award winning singers -- Waa Wei (魏如萱) and Julia Peng (彭佳慧) -- will put on a free concert at Weiwuying's outdoor theater, the arts center said.
Starting at 8:30 p.m. on National Day, a free electronic music party featuring DJ Junior and DJ Cookie will be held at the Banyan Plaza, it said.
Free tickets to the indoor events will be available starting at noon on Oct. 1 through the OpenTix ticketing service. No tickets are needed for the outdoor events, but crowd control measures will be in place to meet government COVID-19 protocols, according to the arts center.
There will also be performances on the weekend for which people will need to buy a ticket.
One of them is a concert to be performed by the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra conducted by Chien on Oct. 9, the arts center said.
The concert features the world premiere of composer Chang Ching-shan's (張菁珊) Images of Kaohsiung - "Cangue of Freedom," Beethoven's Triple Concerto in C Major, Op 56, and Strauss' Don Quixote, Op. 35, according to the arts center.
Meanwhile, the Diabolo Dance Theatre will perform its new production -- The Island, VALO Part 2 -- on Oct. 9 and Oct. 11. Tickets to these performances are currently being sold through OpenTix.
Weiwuying, formerly an idle military training base, was redeveloped into a 46-hectare park and arts center, which opened on Oct. 13, 2018.
It is the largest and youngest cultural institution under the National Performing Arts Center, which also runs the National Theater and Concert Hall in Taipei, and the National Taichung Theater.
